☒QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended August 31, 2016

or

☐TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from ..... to …..

Commission file number: 001-14669

HELEN OF TROY LIMITED

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Bermuda

74-2692550

(State or other jurisdiction of

(I.R.S. Employer

incorporation or organization)

Identification No.)

Clarendon House

2 Church Street

Hamilton, Bermuda

(Address of principal executive offices)

1 Helen of Troy Plaza

El Paso, Texas

79912

(Registrant’s United States Mailing Address)

(Zip Code)

(915) 225-8000

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer ☒

Accelerated filer ☐

Non-accelerated filer ☐

Smaller Reporting Company ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.

The accompanying consolidated condensed financial statements contain all adjustments (consisting of only normal recurring adjustments) necessary to present fairly our consolidated financial position as of August 31, 2016 and February 29, 2016, and the results of our consolidated operations for the interim periods presented. We follow the same accounting policies when preparing quarterly financial data as we use for preparing annual data. These statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the notes included in our latest annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 29, 2016, and our other reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).

In this report and the accompanying consolidated condensed financial statements and notes, unless otherwise indicated or the context suggests otherwise, references to “the Company”, “our Company”, “Helen of Troy”, “we”, “us”, or “our” refer to Helen of Troy Limited and its subsidiaries. We refer to the Company's common shares, par value $0.10 per share, as “common stock.” References to “OXO” and “Hydro Flask” refer to businesses that operate together under the Housewares segment. The OXO business includes the operations of OXO International and certain of its subsidiaries. The Hydro Flask business refers to the operations of Steel Technology, LLC, acquired on March 18, 2016. References to “Kaz” refer to the operations of Kaz, Inc. and its subsidiaries that comprise our Health & Home segment. References to “Healthy Directions” refer to the operations of Healthy Directions, LLC and its subsidiaries that comprise our Nutritional Supplements segment. References to “EMEA” refer to the combined geographic markets of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. We use product and service names in this report for identification purposes only and they may be protected in the United States and other jurisdictions by trademarks, trade names, service marks, and other intellectual property rights of the Company and other parties. The absence of a specific attribution in connection with any such mark does not constitute a waiver of any such right. All trademarks, trade names, service marks, and logos referenced herein belong to their respective owners. References to “the FASB” refer to the Financial Accounting Standards Board. References to “GAAP” refer to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. References to “ASU” refer to the codification of GAAP in the Accounting Standards Updates issued by the FASB. References to “ASC” refer to the codification of GAAP in the Accounting Standards Codification issued by the FASB.

We incorporated as Helen of Troy Corporation in Texas in 1968 and were reorganized as Helen of Troy Limited in Bermuda in 1994. We are a global designer, developer, importer, marketer, and distributor of an expanding portfolio of brand-name consumer products. We have four segments: Housewares, Health & Home, Nutritional Supplements, and Beauty. Our Housewares segment provides a broad range of innovative consumer products for the home. Product offerings include food preparation tools and appliances, insulated stainless steel food and beverage containers, gadgets and storage containers, cleaning, organization, and baby and toddler care products. The Health & Home segment focuses on healthcare devices such as thermometers, humidifiers, blood pressure monitors, and heating pads; water filtration systems; and small home appliances such as portable heaters, fans, air purifiers, and insect control devices. Our Nutritional Supplements segment is a leading provider of premium branded vitamins, minerals and supplements, as well as other health products sold directly to consumers. Our Beauty segment products include electric hair care, beauty care and wellness appliances; grooming tools and accessories; and liquid-, solid- and powder-based personal care and grooming products.

Our business is seasonal due to different calendar events, holidays and seasonal weather patterns. Historically, our highest sales volume and operating income occur in our third fiscal quarter ending November 30th. We purchase our products from unaffiliated manufacturers, most of which are located in China, Mexico and the United States.

Our consolidated condensed financial statements are prepared in U.S. Dollars and in accordance with GAAP, which requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses, and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Actual results could differ from those estimates. We have reclassified, combined or separately disclosed certain amounts in the prior period’s

consolidated condensed financial statements and accompanying footnotes to conform to the current period’s presentation.

Note 2 – New Accounting Pronouncements

From time to time, new accounting pronouncements are issued by the FASB or other standards setting bodies that we adopt according to the various timetables the FASB specifies. Unless otherwise discussed below, we believe the impact of recently issued standards that are not yet effective will not have a material impact on our consolidated financial position, results of operations and cash flows upon adoption.

Not yet adopted:

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, “Leases.” ASU 2016-02 will require lessees to recognize on their balance sheets “right-of-use assets” and corresponding lease liabilities, measured on a discounted basis over the lease term. Virtually all leases will be subject to this treatment except leases that meet the definition of a “short-term lease.” For expense recognition, the dual model requiring leases to be classified as either operating or finance leases has been retained from the prior standard. Operating leases will result in straight-line expense while finance leases will result in a front-loaded expense pattern. Classification will use criteria very similar to those applied in current lease accounting, but without explicit bright lines. The new lease guidance will essentially eliminate off-balance sheet financing. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. The new standard must be adopted using a modified retrospective transition that provides for certain practical expedients and requires the new guidance to be applied at the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented. We are currently evaluating the effect this new accounting guidance may have on our consolidated financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers”, issued as a new Topic, ASC Topic 606. The new revenue recognition standard provides a five-step analysis of transactions to determine when and how revenue is recognized. The core principle of the guidance is that a Company should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. In July 2015, the FASB affirmed its proposal to defer the effective date of the standard to annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017 (and interim reporting periods within those years). Accordingly, we will be required to adopt the new standard in our fiscal year 2019 and can adopt either retrospectively or as a cumulative effect adjustment as of the date of adoption. We are currently evaluating the effect this new accounting guidance. Therefore, we have not yet selected a transition method nor have we determined the impact that the new standard may have on our consolidated financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

New pronouncements adopted:

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-09, “Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting,” which changes the accounting for certain aspects of share-based payments to employees. The provisions of the new guidance affecting the Company require excess tax benefits and tax deficiencies to be recorded in the income statement when the awards vest or are settled; remove the requirement to include hypothetical excess tax benefits in the application of the treasury stock method when computing earnings per share; and provided for a new policy election to either: (1) continue applying forfeiture rate estimates in the determination of compensation cost, or (2) account for forfeitures as a reduction of share-based compensation cost as they occur. The new guidance also requires cash flows related to excess tax benefits to be classified as an operating activity in the cash flow statement and now requires shares withheld for tax withholding purposes to be classified as a financing activity.

We elected to early adopt the new guidance in the first quarter of fiscal year 2017. This required us to reflect any adjustments as of March 1, 2016. The primary impact of adoption was the recognition of excess tax benefits in our provision for income taxes rather than additional paid-in capital for all periods after fiscal year 2016. We elected to change our accounting policy regarding forfeitures. Previously, we estimated forfeitures expected to occur in the determination of compensation costs. Going forward we will now recognize forfeitures in the period

they occur. The cumulative effect adjustments made upon adoption were not material. For the three- and six-months ended August 31, 2016, we recognized additional share-based compensation expense of $0.22 and $0.45 million, respectively, from the change in accounting for forfeitures of share-based awards, and we recognized $0.23 and $1.34 million, respectively, of excess tax benefits in income tax expense rather than additional paid-in capital. The excess tax benefits were reported as an increase to cash provided by operations.

In November 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-17, “Balance Sheet Classification of Deferred Taxes”, which eliminates the requirement for companies to present deferred tax liabilities and assets as current and non-current in a classified balance sheet. Instead, upon adoption, companies are required to classify all deferred tax assets and liabilities as non-current. We elected to early adopt the new guidance in the first quarter of fiscal year 2017 and have made the necessary conforming reclassifications to the accompanying February 29, 2016 consolidated condensed balance sheet. The application of the provisions of ASU 2015-17 did not have a material effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-03, “Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs”. ASU 2015-03 changes the presentation of debt issuance costs in financial statements. ASU 2015-03 requires that debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability rather than as an asset. We adopted the new guidance in the first quarter of fiscal year 2017 and have made the necessary conforming reclassifications to the accompanying February 29, 2016 consolidated condensed balance sheet and related footnote disclosures. The application of the provisions of ASU 2015-03 did not have a material effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

We have provided the table below, which summarizes the impact of each of the adopted accounting changes to the accompanying consolidated condensed financial statements.

On January 22, 2016, a jury ruled against the Company in a case that involved claims by Exergen Corporation. The case dealt with the alleged patent infringement related to two forehead thermometer models sold by our subsidiary, Kaz USA, Inc., in the United States. As a result of the jury verdict, the Company recorded a charge in the fiscal quarter ended February 29, 2016, including legal fees and other related expenses, of $17.83 million ($17.79 million, after tax). On June 8, 2016, certain post-trial motions were concluded with Exergen Corporation being awarded an additional $1.47 million of pre-judgment compensation. We accrued this additional amount in the fiscal quarter ended May 31, 2016. On July 6, 2016, the Company appealed the judgment to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The Company intends to vigorously pursue its appellate rights and defend against the underlying judgment.

We are involved in various other legal claims and proceedings in the normal course of operations. We believe the outcome of these matters will not have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or liquidity.

Most of our products are under warranty against defects in material and workmanship for periods ranging from two to five years. A small number of our products carry a lifetime warranty against defects in material and workmanship. We estimate our warranty accrual using historical trends and believe that these trends are the most reliable method by which we can estimate our warranty liability.

We compute basic earnings per share using the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period. We compute diluted earnings per share using the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding plus the effect of dilutive securities. Dilutive securities at any given point in time may consist of outstanding stock options, issued and contingently issuable unvested restricted share units (“RSUs”), and performance-based restricted share units (“PSUs”). Options for common stock are excluded from the computation of diluted earnings per share if their effect is antidilutive. See Note 15 to these consolidated condensed financial statements for more information regarding share-based payment awards.

For the periods covered below, the basic and diluted shares are as follows:

The following tables contain segment information for the periods covered below:

THREE MONTHS ENDED

(in thousands)

Nutritional

August 31, 2016

Housewares (1)

Health & Home

Supplements

Beauty

Total

Sales revenue, net

$

105,976

$

144,453

$

33,112

$

84,629

$

368,170

Asset impairment charges

-

-

-

-

-

Operating income

24,233

9,397

(1,229)

5,086

37,487

Capital and intangible asset expenditures

2,249

845

545

1,422

5,061

Depreciation and amortization

1,442

5,284

2,174

2,242

11,142

Nutritional

August 31, 2015

Housewares

Health & Home

Supplements

Beauty

Total

Sales revenue, net

$

78,848

$

143,254

$

38,048

$

108,979

$

369,129

Asset impairment charges

-

-

-

-

-

Operating income

15,142

4,808

2,969

9,513

32,432

Capital and intangible asset expenditures

291

1,224

775

939

3,229

Depreciation and amortization

1,075

5,514

1,965

2,319

10,873

(1)

The three months ended August 31, 2016 includes three months of operating results of Hydro Flask, which was acquired on March 18, 2016. There were no comparable results in the same period last year. See Notes 8 and 9 to these consolidated condensed financial statements for further information regarding the acquisition.

SIX MONTHS ENDED

(in thousands)

Nutritional

August 31, 2016

Housewares (1)

Health & Home

Supplements

Beauty

Total

Sales revenue, net

$

190,579

$

290,808

$

69,052

$

165,669

$

716,108

Asset impairment charges

-

-

5,000

2,400

7,400

Operating income

39,733

19,001

(6,501)

8,152

60,385

Capital and intangible asset expenditures

2,838

2,034

2,107

3,236

10,215

Depreciation and amortization

2,771

10,517

4,134

4,676

22,098

Nutritional

August 31, 2015

Housewares

Health & Home

Supplements

Beauty

Total

Sales revenue, net

$

144,034

$

286,296

$

77,488

$

206,656

$

714,474

Asset impairment charges

-

-

-

3,000

3,000

Operating income

26,325

13,226

5,589

13,835

58,975

Capital and intangible asset expenditures

616

1,524

1,906

1,900

5,946

Depreciation and amortization

2,083

10,577

3,933

4,634

21,227

(1)

The six months ended August 31, 2016 includes approximately five and a half months of operating results of Hydro Flask, which was acquired on March 18, 2016. There were no comparable results in the same period last year. See Notes 8 and 9 to these consolidated condensed financial statements for further information regarding the acquisition.

We compute segment operating income based on net sales revenue, less cost of goods sold, SG&A, and any asset impairment charges associated with the segment. The SG&A used to compute each segment’s operating income is directly associated with the segment, plus shared service and corporate overhead expenses that are allocable to the segment. We do not allocate nonoperating income and expense, including interest or income taxes, to operating segments.